Who is ‘Notre Dame’?

The University of Notre Dame and its football team have blended ancient Catholic traditions with purely Fighting Irish ones, from attending Mass before games to pre-game prayers of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.

by Elizabeth Tenety

The University of Notre Dame takes on Alabama Monday night in the BCS national championship game, but when cheering fans shout “Go Notre Dame!” from the stadium bleachers, what are they really saying?

“Prayers and hymns honoring the Blessed Virgin can be traced back as far as the third century, but the Middle Ages, especially the eleventh and twelfth centuries, were the period [of] increased reverence for Our Blessed Lady” writes author M.M. Miles in her book “Maiden and Mother.” Churches and other Catholics institutions have been named after her or dedicated to her honor for 1,600 years. Notre Dame joins thousands of other Catholic institutions today in being named after the Virgin Mary.

According to Catholic theology, Mary was conceived in her mother Anne’s womb without original sin (called the “Immaculate Conception”), and never physically consummated her marriage to Joseph, Jesus’s adoptive, earthly father, making her a “perpetual virgin.” Because she is seen as fully human, Catholics are often implored to live Mary’s example of obedience to God and selfless devotion to Jesus (who is considered both God and man.) She’s been called “the first disciple.”

The University of Notre Dame and its football team have blended ancient Catholic traditions with purely Fighting Irish ones, from attending Mass before games to pre-game prayers of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.

No, you don’t have to be Catholic to attend Notre Dame, but 83 percent of its student body is. While Helliker reported that “most players on the Notre Dame squad aren’t Catholic,” that has not stopped most of them from embracing the school’s longtime religious traditions.

Gerome Sapp, the captain of the 2002 squad, according to Helliker’s reporting, “had no qualms about leading the team in the Hail Mary, a prayer utterly alien to his Southern Baptist upbringing.” Sapp told Helliker “[the Hail Mary] prayer was just one tradition in a school rich with tradition.”

For others, it’s a tradition too far: “The distance between popular evangelicalism and popular Roman Catholicism is never more apparent than when doctrines and devotional practices about Mary arise,” said the Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Explains Mohler: “Evangelical Christians honor Mary as she is rightly honored in Scripture. . . But evangelicals do not find any biblical basis for claims that Mary holds a continuing functional role in salvation or the Christian life.”

Notre Dame also has its critics within the church. Post writer and ND alum Melinda Henneberger says she won’t be cheering for her alma mater because she believes the university responded deeply inadequately to allegations of sexual assault and rape against two players. Michael Leahy, writing for Outlook, said that Notre Dame reflects many of the issues that Catholics have with their church at large –from prohibitions on contraception to not tolerating dissent. On the other end of the spectrum from Leahy is the Cardinal Newman Society, which has often criticized Notre Dame as not Catholic enough for acts like its invitation and honorary degree to President Obama in 2009.

The university named after the Virgin Mary has served not only as a home for storied sports teams facing off on the football field, but has also been, like the church itself, home of many battles over how to keep the faith.

There is something called “Luck of the Irish”. Paul Bear Bryant experienced it 4 times. Alabama Beware…

djman1141

Ha ha ha. The Newman Society also ‘unranks’ the 28 US Jesuit colleges and universities as well as DePaul, St. John’s, Villanova off the top of my head.

Dude, seriously?

DrBobMI

Unfortunately, the colleges and universities ranked in the Newman report are generally new, very small, with relatively weak academic programs.

That, sadly, seems to go hand in hand with the approach the Newman group takes toward the faith of Holy Mother Church. Shallow, small, and poorly educated.

I’m proud of my degrees from the Jesuits at Holy Cross and the Holy Cross Fathers at Notre Dame. Even the non-Catholic professors at each showed deep reverence and respect for the Church; indeed, far more than any of the members of the Newman Society I have yet to meet.

MisterH

Seriously.

Those schools are not exactly known for a robust Catholic identity.

mick7744

The nickname, “Fighting Irish” was conferred on them by the great Chicago sportswriter, Grantland Rice, who was being sarcastic.

Sure, the Notre Dame faculty was mostly Irish Jesuits, but the football team was largely comprised of Polish-American steelworker’s sons from Gary, Ind

Rice must also be given credit for being a prime force in bringing down Al Capone after he showed up at a White Sox game in the top of the 3rd inning and the game had to be held up for over 7 minutes while beer baron Al received a standing ovation.

Rice wrote that if President Hoover had shown up…the game would have been held up by 7 full minutes of booing.

After that…every time Herbert Hoover saw J. Edgar Hoover, he would demand to know what was being done about jailing, “that Capone fellow”

Well over 200 murders committed or ordered by Big Al had less impact on his legal fate than this printed joking insult did

yellojkt

It’s also an implied racial slur. You might as well call them the Drunken Micks.

gadflyonthewall

My father, a Fordham man (and in the days of Lombardi, no less!) used to refer to Notre Dame as “Our Lady of the 4th and goal to go”.

The answer to the question is, of course, The Immaculate Conception.

Interesting that Notre Dame was founded prior to Bernadette Souberous and Pius XI’s Bull declaring The Immaculate Conception and The Assumption to be undisputed Dogma.

Bergman’s fantastic chess metaphor: in the game with Death Mary is Queen (Grace), and moves with impunity (enhancing, not perfecting). Even the wiley knight, who can change colors, is ultimately taken. The troubadour, the ‘pawn’ who like lowly Bernadette has been granted visions, is spared.

Fundamentalism are so borish, Rev Mohler.

Paulbarry104

Are you for real???????????????? ND should of never been playing. They can not hang with the SEC…..

Paulbarry104

yea 35 to 7 they should be ranked number 1 lol.

Paulbarry104

Please Im Jewish now I dare you postmoderator to delete!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seeuinoz

I appreciate your service to our country and I’m sure you’re a very nice gentleman… but you need to get out of the 19th century.

Seeuinoz

Do us all a favor… pick up a science book… and join us in the 21st century.

Nancy6512

Oh whats that all about

GerriM

Fighting Irish = drunken Mics??
I think that it a stretch.

Secular1

People throw stones at your beloved RCC, is because it is wedded to absurd dogmas and requires all the adherents to proclaim those stupid dogmas. We also throw metaphorical stones at your beloved church becaus it is led by a bunch of criminals who feel that their fellow clergy are above the laws. We also throw metphorical stones becaus your belove RCC’s heirarchy is led by a bunch of bigoted men, devoid of any shame and scruples. We also throw metaphorical stones at your beloved RCC because it is steeped in superstition.

mcpherson63

The “great Chicago sportswriter” was born in Murfreesboro, TN, and graduated from Vanderbilt.